The father of modern Chicago blues, Muddy Waters is virtually unrivalled as an influence on the music scene, counting everyone from Chris Barber to Angus Young among his many disciples. His recording output is impressive and successful enough as it is, but it is interesting to consider how much sooner or greater his success might have been had his record label, Chess, allowed him to record the material he wanted rather than follow particular themes. One of those themes was a tribute album to Big Bill Broonzy, a bluesman Muddy Waters would surpass in popularity. There again, Muddy always acknowledged the assistance he had received from Big Bill whilst he was making his way in the music world, so perhaps a tribute album was also a way of saying thank you. As it was, the finished album was an exceptional release, with Muddys interpretations of a couple of Big Bills songs even better than the originals.